PuzzleManiak

About PuzzleManiak

PuzzleManiak gathers 24 pencil-and-paper logic puzzles in one app for iPhone and iPad: Sudoku, Pattern (a nonogram), Bridges, Dominosa, Filling, Galaxies, Loopy, Light Up, Mines, Net, Rectangles, Slant, Tents, Unequal, Untangle, Black Box, SameGame, Pegs, Mastermind, Map, Magnets, Singles, Range and Netslide. It is made by Alexandre Minard and has been on the App Store since 2008, with updates as recent as 2026.

In local play every board is generated on the spot with a unique solution, at several difficulty levels, so you never run out. The daily challenge is the online side: each day, every game gets one puzzle that is the same for everyone, and when you finish it your time is set against the other players who solved it. Regular players say they work through the day's set, one puzzle per game, picking the types they like best.

Beside the daily challenge there is an Online League, where a game you played locally can be sent up for others to play, with an overall ranking and one for each game. A timer and a star rating run above each board, and Records, Undo, Restart and Solve buttons sit below it.

The app costs $0.99 on the App Store, and its online features, the daily challenge among them, need an auto-renewing subscription (monthly, six-monthly or yearly, with a two-week trial). It suits players who like the classic logic puzzle families and want a fresh, ranked set of them each day in one place. The app can be played in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

How to play PuzzleManiak

1. Install PuzzleManiak from the App Store on an iPhone or iPad.
2. Choose Online Game and start a subscription (a two-week trial is offered) to open the daily challenge.
3. Pick one of the 24 puzzle types from the game grid.
4. Solve the day's puzzle by its rules: for Light Up, place bulbs until every white cell is lit and no two bulbs see each other.
5. Finish to post your time and see where you rank among the players who solved the same puzzle.
6. Go back and play the daily puzzle in the other games, or use Local Game for unlimited practice boards.

Screenshots

Tips

• Practise a puzzle type in Local Game at easy level before tackling its daily challenge, since the online time counts.
• Use the help button on a board to read a puzzle's rules if a type is new to you.
• You do not have to play all 24 a day: many regulars stick to the types they enjoy.

Questions